Method and system for displaying a menu which has an icon and additional information corresponding to stored video data, wherein the icon can selectively display a still image and a video image of the video data with the additional information

ABSTRACT

A menu displaying system and method having an icon for editing image data in an AV (Audio and Video) device, the AV device having a recording medium capable of storing image data and audio data, and which is capable of reproducing image data and audio data. The method comprises steps for displaying icons and additional information corresponding to the image data stored at the recording medium, selecting one of the icons displayed, and reproducing image data corresponding to the selected icon. A corresponding program stored at the AV device having a recording media such as a hard disc drive, is then reproduced upon a menu screen such that image data stored at the AV device can be easily observed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No.13/586,812, filed Aug. 15, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/985,867, filed Nov. 12, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.8,270,022, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system and method for displaying amenu. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system andmethod for displaying a menu having an icon, provided when displayingimage data stored upon a recording medium on a menu screen under GUI(Graphic User Interface) circumstances in an AV (Audio and Video)device, the AV device having a hard disc drive or a flash memory as therecording medium.

2. Description of the Related Art

Developments in image data digitization and condensation technologieshave resulted in image recording/reproducing devices which are capableof reproducing image data stored upon an optical medium such as a CD-ROMor DVD title. These optical media do not deteriorate significantly evenwith long use, and can record high quality images and multichannel audiodata (for example, 5.1 channel audio). An optical medium such as a DVDtitle, can record image data and audio data of file sizes up to hundredsof Mbytes and even as large as several Gbytes, and an imagerecording/reproducing device has been introduced which reproduces justthe optical medium. The conventional image recording/reproducing deviceusing an optical medium provides a basic function for reproducing animage data stored upon the optical medium. An OSD (On Screen Display)menu of an image recording/reproducing device can be provided andtypically comprises a menu for setting an aspect ratio of a screen, forexample, 4:3 and 16:9, when reproducing a DVD title, a menu for settinga format such as NTSC/PAL of image data to be transmitted to a displaydevice such as a television connected with the imagerecording/reproducing device, and a menu for setting an output form suchas Dolby digital and PCM for audio data. The menus are used to definehow to reproduce image data or audio data stored at a DVD title or aCD-ROM title simply based on the MPEG-2 format, but if image data isstored upon a certain recording medium such as a flash ROM or a harddisc drive built into an AV device, it is difficult to recognize thecontent of the image data.

Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for displaying a menufor easily recognizing image data content with respect to image datarecorded in an image reproducing device which is capable ofrecording/reproducing digital image data.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in order to solve the above andother problems associated with the conventional arrangement. An aspectof the present invention is to provide a system and method fordisplaying a menu for use in an image reproducing device which iscapable of recording/reproducing digital image data, by which, recordedimage data can be easily recognized.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a menu displayingsystem and method is provided for editing image data in an AV (Audio andVideo) device which has a recording medium capable of storing image dataand audio data, and which is capable of reproducing image data and audiodata. The menu displaying method comprises steps for displaying iconsand additional information corresponding to the image data stored uponthe recording medium, selecting one of the icons displayed, andreproducing image data corresponding to the selected icon.

The step of selecting one of the icons may further comprise steps forlocating a cursor on the icon, and calling image data, stored upon therecording medium, from an address in which image data is storedcorresponding to the icon under the cursor.

When the cursor is moved out of the icon, the reproducing of the imagedata corresponding to the icon is stopped.

The step of reproducing the image data further comprises steps forreproducing the image data on the screen at selected speeds, rangingfrom slower to faster.

The step of reproducing the image data further comprises steps forreproducing the icon which occupies a certain area on the screen.

The icon upon which the cursor can be placed, displays a frame of theMPEG image data stored, preferably a first frame or I frame, on thescreen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above aspects and features of the present invention will become moreapparent by describing certain embodiments of the present invention withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary DVD reproducing deviceillustrating an AV device to which a menu displaying method can beapplied for reproducing an image according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of an exemplary remote controller for controlling theDVD reproducing device of FIG. 1 from a distance;

FIG. 3 is a view of an exemplary initial menu guide screen that can beprovided when the menu key of FIG. 2 is selected;

FIG. 4 is a view of an exemplary menu displayed on the screen when theprogram list menu is selected on the initial menu guide screen of FIG.3; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for displaying amenu having an icon according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood torefer to like parts, components and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Certain embodiments of the present invention will now be described ingreater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, same drawing reference numerals are usedfor the same elements even in different drawings. The matters defined inthe description such as a detailed description of construction andelements, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of theinvention. Also, functions or constructions which are well known tothose skilled in the art are not described in detail since they wouldobscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary DVD reproducing deviceillustrating an AV device to which a menu displaying method can beapplied for reproducing an image according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

The depicted DVD reproducing device comprises a switching part 10, anMPEG encoder part 20, an HDD (hard disc drive) 30, a Flash ROM 40, acontrol part 50, a RAM 60, a light receiving part 70, a decoder part 80,and an optical media player 90.

The switching part 10 receives various external image data/audio data,and outputs image data from the decoder part 80 to outside devices, suchas a monitor screen. The switching part 10 receives external signalssuch as a broadcast signal, and component and composite signals sentfrom a video (not shown), and selectively connects each to a functionblock of an image recording/reproducing device. For example, when theexternal signal sent from an external device such as a video, is acomponent or composite signal, the switching part 10 transmits thesignal to the MPEG encoder part 20.

The MPEG encoder part 20 converts analog image data to digital imagedata, and compresses the digital image data into an MPEG format such asMPEG-2 format. In general, image data in MPEG format is compressed suchthat the requirement for storage space can be reduced when storing upona recording medium such as the HDD 30.

The HDD 30 stores the MPEG image data/audio data as a file. The MPEGimage data/audio data, among the image data received at the switchingpart 10, can be stored as they are received. For an exemplaryimplementation of the present invention, the above embodiment depictsthe HDD 30 as storing MPEG-2 image data as a file. However, this shouldnot be considered as limiting. The HDD 30 may store data in MPEG-1,MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 formats. Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment,the MPEG encoder part 20 and the decoder part 80 encode and decode dataaccording to an MPEG-2 format, however, each may encode and decode datain MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 formats.

The Flash ROM 40 stores an operating system for operating a DVDreproducing device, and further includes application programs fordisplaying image/audio files of the HDD 30 and additional information inGUI (Graphic User Interface) menu form on a screen. The Flash ROM 40further includes application programs for editing and displaying theimage data/audio data of the HDD 30 via the displayed menu.

The control part 50 stores MPEG data output from the MPEG encoder part20 at the HDD 30, or transmits image data/audio data stored at the HDD30 to the decoder part 80. The control part 50 performs an applicationprogram stored at the Flash ROM 40, displays an icon corresponding tothe image data file of the HDD 30, and reproduces on a menu, the iconselected by a control signal (not shown) received from a remotecontroller (not shown).

The RAM 60 loads a file when the control part 50 edits the file storedat the HDD 30. That is, the control part 50 does not directly edit afile stored at the HDD 30, but the RAM 60 edits the file, and the editedfile is then stored again at the HDD 30.

The light receiving part 70 receives a control signal (not shown)generated from a remote controller (not shown), or from a setting key(not shown) built in the image recording/reproducing device forcontrolling various tasks, for example, converting channels andadjusting volume and image quality of the image recording/reproducingdevice, and then transmits the control signal to the control part 50.

The decoder part 80 receives MPEG image data stored at the HDD 30 viathe control part 50, and converts the data into a video format such asNTSC/PAL. The converted signal can then be reproduced at an imagedisplay device such as a television (not shown). The optical mediaplayer 90 reads image data and audio data from a DVD title, andtransmits the data to the control part 50. The image data and audio datatransmitted to the control part 50 are either stored at the HDD 30, ortransmitted to the MPEG decoder part 80 to be reproduced.

FIG. 2 is a view of an exemplary remote controller of the DVDreproducing device of FIG. 1. The remote controller 100 has a menu key101 for instructing the loading, opening, and closing of a menu screen,and left, right, up and down direction keys 102, 103, 104, and 105,respectively, for instructing movement among menus on the menu screen.The enter key 106 is provided for selecting a menu, and the return key107 is provided for returning the present screen to a previous screen.

Additional keys are provided for operating an imagerecording/reproducing device (not shown) and an image display device(not shown) such as a television. The functions of these keys can beeasily recognized by markings indicated adjacent to or upon each of thekeys, and therefore, a detailed description of each of the remainingkeys will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a view of an exemplary initial menu guide screen which can beprovided when the menu key 101 of FIG. 2 is selected. In the exampleshown in FIG. 3, the digital recorder menu 201 is also selected whichresults in a sub-menu display 201 a.

When the menu key 101 of the remote controller 100 is pressed, acorresponding control signal (not shown) is transmitted to the lightreceiving part 70, and the control part 50 calls an application programstored at the Flash ROM 40 to display the menu in GUI form on thescreen.

The displayed menu 200 comprises a digital recorder menu 201 formanaging data stored at the HDD 30, a DVD player menu 202 forreproducing a DVD title inserted in the optical media player 90, a jukebox menu 203 for reproducing or storing a music CD at the HDD 30 when aCD-DA standard music CD is inserted, a photo album menu 204, and aset-up menu 205.

The sub-menu 201 a is displayed on the screen when the digital recordermenu 201 is selected. As depicted, the sub-menu 201 a of the digitalrecorder menu 201 comprises a Program List menu 210 showing a list ofimage data stored at the HDD 30, a Parental Lock menu 220 for limitingviewer's access to a certain program such as an adult program, an Editmenu 230 for editing image data stored at the HDD 30, and a Recordingmenu 240 for recording a broadcast program according to a preset time.

FIG. 4 is a view of an example of a menu displayed on the screen whenthe program list menu 210 is selected on the initial menu guide screenof FIG. 3. The program list menu 210 comprises an icon menu 211 of icons211 a to 211 d corresponding to programs stored at the HDD 30, a Titleidentification part 212 for indicating a program title corresponding toeach icon 211 a to 211 d, a date identification part 213 for indicatingthe stored time of each program at the HDD 30, and a reproducing lengthtime identification part 214 for indicating a reproducing time of eachprogram. Each of icons 211 a to 211 d is displayed on the first startframe, that is, an I frame, of MPEG image data stored at the HDD 30, andhas information on a start address of the corresponding program storedat the HDD 30.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for displaying a menuhaving an icon according to an embodiment of the present invention. Inorder to display the program list menu 210 of image data stored at theHDD 30 on the screen, the program list menu 210 should be selected onthe initial menu guide screen 200. When the menu key 101 is pressed onthe remote controller 100, a control signal (not shown) generated fromthe remote controller 100 is transmitted to the light receiving part 70,and the control part 50 detects the transmission at step S300, anddisplays the initial menu guide screen 200 on the screen as shown inFIG. 3 at step S400.

When a cursor is located on the program list menu 210 on the initialmenu guide screen 200 by the use of direction keys 102 to 105 and theenter key 106 is pressed, a control signal generated from the remotecontroller 100 is transmitted to the light receiving part 70. Thecontrol part 50 detects the transmission at step S500 and displays themenu 210 as shown in FIG. 4 on the screen at step S600. The icons 211 ato 211 d are displayed in forms of still images on the menu displayed onthe screen and which correspond to programs stored at the HDD 30. Thetitle, storing time, and reproducing time of the programs are indicatedadjacent to each of icons 211 a to 211 d.

At step S700, when the direction keys 102 to 105 are pressed to locate acursor on one of a plurality of icons 211 a to 211 d on the program listmenu 210 on the screen as shown in FIG. 4, an icon under the cursorcalls a program stored at the HDD 30 at step S800. The still image ofthe icon represents the first start frame, that is, an I frame, of aprogram stored at the HDD 30, and specifically, when a cursor is locatedon one of the icons 211 a to 211 d, a corresponding program is loadedfrom the HDD 30 to be reproduced at step S900. The size of the imagedata provided in response to the call of an icon and reproduced on thescreen is substantially the same size as the icons 211 a to 211 d. Thatis, the selected icon of icons 211 a to 211 d displayed on the programlist menu 210, is reproduced and displayed as moving images within thesame position. When an icon, for example 211 a, under the cursor isreproduced as a moving image, and the cursor is moved to another icon,for example 211 b, the reproduction of the moving images correspondingto the icon 211 a is stopped, and a moving image is reproduced on thescreen corresponding to the icon 211 b currently under the cursor.

The icon 211 a, which is no longer reproduced, may then again bedisplayed on the screen as a still image of the initial I frame of theprogram corresponding to the icon 211 a.

In order to reproduce image data in the areas of icons 211 a to 211 dslower or faster, the direction keys 102 and 103 of the remotecontroller 100 may be pressed to set desired reproduction speeds, suchas 2 times an original speed, 4 times an original speed, or ½ times anoriginal speed. For example, if the direction key 102 is pressed once, ½times an original speed may be set as the reproduction speed, and if thedirection key 102 is pressed once more, ¼ times an original speed may beset as the reproduction speed. If the direction key 103 is pressed once,2 times an original speed may be set as the reproduction speed, and ifpressed once more, 4 times an original speed may be set as thereproduction speed.

If a user desires to know which program is stored at the HDD 30, theuser may simply locate a cursor on the icons 211 a to 211 d in which thefirst frame (I frame) of each program is displayed, such that thecontents of each program corresponding to each icon are displayed on thescreen, and the user can then easily observe the contents of theprogram.

As described above, a program stored at an AV device having a recordingmedium such as a hard disc drive, is reproduced in a menu screenaccording to an embodiment of the present invention, and therefore,image data stored at the AV device can be easily observed.

The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and arenot to be construed as limiting the present invention. The presentteachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Also,the description of the embodiments of the present invention is intendedto be illustrative and not to limit the scope of the claims, and manyalternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A video apparatus, comprising: a memory; adisplay device; and a hardware processor implementing a controllerconfigured to: control the display device to display a program listscreen comprising a plurality of still images representing a pluralityof content programs comprising a first content program and a secondcontent program stored in the memory, a first still image of theplurality of still images corresponding to a first image frame of thefirst content program and a second still image of the plurality of stillimages corresponding to a second image frame of the second contentprogram; in response to locating a cursor on the first still image, fromamong the plurality of still images, reproduce a moving imagecorresponding to the first content program stored in the memory, controlthe display device to stop the display of the first still image, andcontrol the display device to display the moving image corresponding tothe first content program stored in the memory, based on an area inwhich the first still image was displayed, while the second still imageis displayed; and in response to locating the cursor on the second stillimage; from among the plurality of still images; while the moving imagecorresponding to the first content program is displayed, control thedisplay device to resume the display of the first still imagecorresponding to the first image frame of the first content programstored in the memory and to display a moving image corresponding to thesecond content program based on an area in which the second still imagewas displayed, while the display of the first still image is resumed. 2.The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the moving imagecorresponding to the first content program is displayed within an areawhich the first still image was displayed.
 3. The apparatus as claimedin claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to: in responseto locating the cursor at the second still image, stop reproducing themoving image corresponding to the first content program and reproducethe moving image corresponding to the second content program.
 4. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cursor is controlled basedon received signal from a remote controller.
 5. The apparatus as claimedin claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of still images corresponds toI frame of each of the plurality of content programs.
 6. The apparatusas claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of still imagescomprises information on start address of each of the plurality ofcontent programs.
 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein theprogram list screen further comprises: icon menu corresponding to eachof the plurality of content programs, title of the each of the pluralityof content programs, time in which the each of the plurality of contentprograms is stored, and reproduction time of the each of the pluralityof content programs.
 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecontroller is further configured to, in response to locating the cursoron the first still image, to control the display device to highlight thefirst still image, prior to stopping the display of the first stillimage.
 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a size of themoving image corresponding to the first content program is same as asize of the first still image.
 10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein the controller is further configured to, in response to adirection key of a remote controller being manipulated, reproduce one ofthe moving image corresponding to the first content program and themoving image corresponding to the second content program more quickly orslowly and control the display device to display the one of the movingimage corresponding to the first content program and the moving imagecorresponding to the second content program more quickly or slowly. 11.The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a storagedevice, wherein at least one of the plurality of content programs arestored on the storage device.
 12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein the controller is further configured to, in response to locatingthe cursor on the first still image, reproduce the audio data for thefirst content program corresponding to the first still image.